Free-standing storage rack for one or more bicycles

ABSTRACT

The free-standing bicycle rack includes a base having at least two legs, a vertical support member projecting from the base, and a hook attached to the vertical support member for holding the wheel of a bicycle, such that the bicycle is stored in a vertical orientation. The bicycle rack is readily expandable to accommodate different numbers of bicycles, and the hook may be repositioned to different heights to accommodate bicycles of different sizes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is directed to the field of free-standing storageracks, and, specifically, to a free-standing bicycle rack that stores atleast one bicycle in a vertical orientation and that is readilyadaptable to storing multiple bicycles in a vertical orientation.

BACKGROUND

Bicycle owners face a common dilemma in the storage of their bicycles.Some people who live in single-family dwellings store their bicycles ina garage, carport, or basement. Apartment dwellers and college studentsoften transport their bicycles to their apartments or dorm rooms, wherethey are parked in a hallway, foyer, or bedroom. Regardless of theirhome type, bicycle owners have needed several feet of uninterruptedhorizontal storage space to accommodate their bicycle. Storage needs arefurther complicated if multiple bicycles are to be stored.

In many instances, rather than simply leaning it on its kickstand, abike owner would prefer to store his bicycle on wall-mounted hooks or astand to prevent the bicycle from leaving mud or dirt on the floor andto prevent the handlebars from scuffing the walls. Traditional bicyclestands support the bicycle in a riding position—that is, in a generallyhorizontal orientation—that requires storage space at least the lengthof the bicycle. Mounting these types of stands to a wall typicallyrequires the insertion of long bolts into wall studs to support theweight of the bicycle (as much as 30 pounds) and stand, which may beproblematic for several reasons. First, the wall studs or joists may notbe located in areas practical for the storage of the bicycle. Also, ifthe bicycle owner lives in an apartment, some other rental property, ordormitory, he may be prohibited from bolting items to the wall.

What is needed is a bicycle storage system that is free-standing andself-supporting without being secured to a wall, floor, ceiling, orother support surface. Also needed is a storage rack or system thatorients a bicycle in a vertical orientation, so that less floor space isneeded per bicycle. An additional need not currently met by the industryis modularity of a storage rack or system, meaning that the rack isreadily and quickly adaptable to the storage of multiple bicycles indifferent arrangements to accommodate various room layouts and storagerequirements.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides an aesthetically pleasing, functional,versatile solution to the problems associated with bicycle storage. Thefree-standing bicycle rack includes a base having at least two legs, avertical support member projecting from the base, and a hook attached tothe vertical support member for holding the wheel of a bicycle, suchthat the bicycle is stored in a vertical orientation. The bicycle rackis readily expandable to accommodate different numbers of bicycles, andthe hook may be repositioned to different heights to accommodatebicycles of different sizes.

According to a first aspect, a free-standing bicycle rack includes abase; a vertical support member projecting from the base; and a hookattached to the vertical support member; the base comprising at least afirst support leg and a second support leg spaced apart from the firstsupport leg; wherein the hook is configured to engage the front wheel ofa bicycle and to hold the bicycle in a vertical orientation with theback wheel contacting at least one of the vertical support member, thefirst support leg, and the second support leg.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

A full and complete description of the present storage system isprovided herein with reference to the appended figures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective elevational view of a free-standing storagerack, according to the present disclosure, in which a single bicycle isbeing stored in a vertical orientation;

FIG. 2 is a perspective elevational view of a universal sliderattachment, which may be used with the bicycle rack of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective elevational view of a portion of a verticalsupport beam of FIG. 1, in which the universal slider attachment of FIG.2 is installed and further illustrating a bicycle-bearing hook;

FIG. 4 is a perspective elevational view of an alternate storage rack,according to another aspect of the present disclosure, in which twobicycles are stored in a vertical orientation in a back-to-backarrangement;

FIG. 5 is a perspective elevational view of yet another storage rack, inwhich two bicycles are stored in a vertical orientation in a right-anglearrangement;

FIG. 6 is a perspective elevational view of a further storage rack, inwhich two bicycles are stored in a vertical orientation in aside-by-side arrangement;

FIG. 7 is a perspective elevational view of a storage rack, according toyet another aspect provided herein, in which three bicycles are storedin a vertical orientation in a side-by-side arrangement;

FIG. 8 is a perspective elevational view of yet another storage rack, inwhich three bicycles are stored in a vertical orientation in aright-angle arrangement; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective elevational view of an additional storage rack,in which multiple bicycles are stored in a side-by-side arrangement.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference is now made to the drawings for illustration of variousfree-standing storage racks for one or more bicycles. While theparticular illustrations provided herein are directed to free-standingstorage racks for bicycles having a universal slider attachment, variousother attachment mechanisms (such as a threaded hook and threaded holes)may be equally applicable for the present storage racks. Moreover, whilethe bicycles illustrated are adult-sized road bicycles, bicycles ofother types (such as mountain bikes) and sizes (such as children'sbicycles) may be stored similarly. Further, whereas the present storageracks are shown as being made of tubular metal components, othermaterials may be used.

According to a first aspect shown in FIG. 1, a self-supporting bicyclerack 100 is provided for storing a bicycle 1 in a vertical orientation.The rack 100, which may also be referred to as a storage system,includes a vertical support member 10, a base 20, and a hook 30. Thevertical support member 10 has at least one attachment surface 12 thatsupports the tires of the bicycle 1. An attachment trough 13 may beincorporated within the attachment surface 12 for the provision of thehook 30 and, in one aspect, a universal slider attachment 60 (shown inFIG. 2).

The base 20 may be constructed of a first set of two oppositely disposedlegs 24 and another support leg 26 that is positioned perpendicularlybetween the legs 24. The third leg 26 is located, in this exemplaryversion, beneath the rear wheel 9 of the bicycle 1 and is longer thanthe first pair of legs 24. In at least one assemblage, the leg 26 has adimension approximating the diameter of the bicycle wheel. The distalends of the legs 24, 26 are provided with feet 25, 27, which aresubstantially vertical relative to the legs 24, 26. In one aspect, thefeet 25, 27 are positioned perpendicularly to the legs 24, 26 to form anL-shape, although other angles greater than 90 degrees may be used. Forheight adjustments and to ensure that the rack 100 is level, adjustablepedestals 29 may be attached to the bottom of the feet 25, 27. Further,it is contemplated that the feet of the adjustable pedestals may beadapted to removeably receive wheels or coasters to allow the user toeasily maneuver the storage rack to any desired storage location. Thewheels or coaters may have locking mechanisms as is common in the art.

The legs 24 (and 24, 26) may be connected to one another by any ofvarious methods, including an interlocking system having a depressiblebutton and a corresponding aperture (such as may be used in adjustingthe length of a crutch). Other attachment methods include bolts, screws(for instance, into threaded receptacles), magnets, interlocking tabs,and the like. In the event that the modular bicycle rack 100 is to be apermanent fixture, the legs 24, 26 may also be welded to the verticalsupport member 10 and/or each other. Additionally, a multi-portconnector piece, such as a T-shaped unit, may be used to connect thelegs 24, 26 to one another and to the vertical support member 10,perhaps using the interlocking button and aperture described above.Further, it should be understood that any bicycle rack shown withmultiple legs (e.g., 24) extending in an axial direction could beprovided with a single leg extending the requisite length.

The hook 30 (shown in FIG. 3) has a shape resembling the curved portionof a question mark. As seen in FIG. 3, the shape includes straight linesegments including a straight line segment extending to the right andleft lateral sides of the vertical support member 10. The hook 30 may beprovided with a threaded end, which is sized to engage a correspondinglythreaded hole (not shown) in the trough 13. Alternately, as shown inFIGS. 2 and 3, a universal slider attachment 60 may be positioned withinthe trough 13, such that the teeth 63 of the slider attachment 60 engageridges (not shown) in the valley of the trough 13. An aperture 61 in theslider attachment 60 receives the correspondingly shaped attachment endof the hook 30. Once the hook 30 is secured within the trough 13, thecurved body of the hook 30 may be positioned through the spokes of thefront wheel 8 of the bicycle 1 to hold the bicycle in its desiredvertical orientation. The back wheel 9 of the bicycle 1 rests againstthe support member 10 and, optionally, the leg 26, depending on theheight at which the hook 30 is positioned along the vertical supportmember 10. As seen in FIGS. 1 and 3, the hook 30 is arranged to occupy ahorizontal plane when the vertical support member 10 is in the verticalorientation shown in FIG. 1. The hook 30 projects roughly equally toopposed sides of vertical support member 10.

The bicycle rack 100 may be modified to hold more than one bicycle, asshown in FIGS. 4 through 9.

In FIG. 4, two bicycles 1, 2 are oriented in a back-to-back arrangement,which may be useful when the bicycle rack 110 is to be positioned alongan available length of wall to minimize the intrusion of the bicycles 1,2 into a room. The base 20 includes an additional leg 26 that reinforcesthe rack 110 to accommodate the weight of the second bicycle 2. The legs24 may be shorter than the legs 26 to allow the bicycle rack 110 to behoused in close proximity to a wall.

An alternate variation of the bicycle rack 110 is shown in FIG. 5, inwhich a bicycle rack 120 is provided with a second vertical supportmember 10 to create a side-by-side storage arrangement. Each bicycle 1,2 attaches to a hook 30 on a corresponding support member 10. The base20 includes two under-tire legs 26 and a longitudinal leg 24 (which maybe multiple segments joined together) that extends outboard of the firstsupport member 10, between the first and second support members 10, andbeyond the second support member 10. As before, the legs 24, 26terminate in feet 25, 27 for stability and ease of movement.

FIG. 6 illustrates yet another variation of a bicycle rack for twobicycles 1, 2. A bicycle rack 130 includes a single vertical supportmember 10, which has been modified to include troughs 13 on two adjacentsurfaces. When hooks 30 are attached to the troughs 13, the bicycles 1,2 are arranged at a right angle with respect to one another. Such aconfiguration may be useful if the bicycle owner wants to store thebicycles 1, 2 in the corner of a room. The base 20 includes a leg 24that resides beneath the rear wheel of the first bicycle (1) and extendsbeyond the vertical support member 10, as well as a second leg 26 thatconnects to the vertical support member 10 and the leg 24 to form aright angle with the leg 24. The longer leg 24 (in this exemplarystructure) may be a single piece of square tubular material, or may betwo separate pieces joined together, for instance, at the verticalsupport member 10.

The principles used to construct bicycle racks for one and two bicycles,as described above, may be further extrapolated to create bicycle racksfor three or more bicycles, as shown in FIGS. 7 through 9.

FIG. 7 shows a bicycle rack 140 in which three bicycles 1, 2, 3 arepositioned in a side-by-side arrangement, each of the bicycles 1, 2, 3being supported by its own vertical support member 10 and hook 30. Inthis variation, the leg 24 extends along the length of the rack 140 andthree additional legs 26 project from the longitudinal leg 24 at rightangles thereto, each leg 26 being positioned beneath the rear wheel of acorresponding bicycle. It should be apparent that there is norequirement that all of the legs 26 project in the same direction awayfrom the leg 24. For instance, although such a configuration wouldrequire more space, the centrally located support leg 26 may projectfrom the opposite side of the leg 24, in which case the vertical supportmember 10 may also be re-oriented so that the trough 13 is facing thesame direction.

Another variation is shown in FIG. 8, in which the bicycle rack 150possesses a single vertical support member 10 that has been modified toinclude attachment troughs 13 on three surfaces. Each trough 13 isprovided with its own hook 30 for receipt of a bicycle 1, 2, or 3. Thebicycles 1, 2, 3 are oriented in a “tower” arrangement, in which eachbicycle is positioned at a right angle to an adjacent bicycle. In thisconfiguration, the legs 24, 26 may have approximately the same length asthe diameter of the largest bicycle wheel being supported.

FIG. 9 illustrates a multi-bicycle rack system 160, in which multiplesupport members 10 are provided for supporting multiple bicycles 1-6.The bicycle rack 160 features a centrally located support member 10 towhich two bicycles 3, 4 are secured at right angles to one another. Theremaining bicycles are attached to their own vertical support members,though one may easily imagine the installation of additional bicyclesopposite one or more of bicycles 1, 2, 5, and 6. The resulting V-shapeof the rack 160 requires less storage space than conventional storageracks that orient the bicycles horizontally. As with the previousconfigurations, the legs 26 are oriented at right angles with respect tothe leg 24 that extends the length of the rack 160.

In addition to storing bicycles using the hooks 30 described herein, itmay also be possible to store auxiliary equipment (such as helmets,hats, gloves, backpacks, etc.) or other types of equipment (such assnowboards, skis, hockey sticks, golf bags, surfboards, etc.) usingadditional hooks 30, perhaps placed at different heights along thetrough 13. It is further contemplated that a storage compartment couldbe utilized with the rack system such as baskets that can be fixed tothe rack. Relatedly, in the rack configuration shown in FIG. 5, alocker-like compartment could be fixably attached in the region betweenthe horizontally opposed vertical support member, thereby, allowing thestorage of items without having to utilize any fixed hooks on theexterior surface of the vertical members.

The preceding discussion merely illustrates the principles of thepresent bicycle storage systems. It will thus be appreciated that thoseskilled in the art may be able to devise various arrangements, which,although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principlesof the inventions and are included within their spirit and scope.Furthermore, all examples and conditional language recited herein areprincipally and expressly intended to be for educational purposes and toaid the reader in understanding the principles of the inventions and theconcepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art and are to beconstrued as being without limitation to such specifically recitedexamples and conditions.

Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, andembodiments of the invention, as well as specific examples thereof, areintended to encompass both structural and functional equivalentsthereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include bothcurrently known equivalents and equivalents developed in the future,i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function, regardlessof structure.

This description of the exemplary embodiments is intended to be read inconnection with the figures of the accompanying drawings, which are tobe considered part of the entire description of the invention. Theforegoing description provides a teaching of the subject matter of theappended claims, including the best mode known at the time of filing,but is in no way intended to preclude foreseeable variationscontemplated by those of skill in the art.

I claim:
 1. A free-standing bicycle rack for supporting a bicyclecomprising: a base; a first vertical support member projecting from thebase; and a hook attached to the vertical support member; the basecomprising at least a first support leg and a second support leg spacedapart from the first support leg, and a second vertical support member,the second vertical support member being spaced a distance apart fromthe first vertical support member, a support leg being positionedbetween and connected to the first and second vertical support members,each vertical support member defining a trough and having a hookinstalled in the trough for supporting a bicycle in a verticalorientation; wherein the hook has a shape resembling the curved portionof a question mark and is arranged to occupy a horizontal plane when thevertical support member is in the vertical orientation, projects roughlyequally to opposed sides of the vertical support member, and isconfigured to engage the front wheel of the bicycle and to hold thebicycle in a vertical orientation with the back wheel of the bicycleadapted to contact at least one of the vertical support member, thefirst support leg, and the second support leg.
 2. The bicycle rack ofclaim 1, wherein the vertical support member comprises an attachmentsurface, the attachment surface defining a trough therein extending aportion of the length of the vertical support member; and wherein thehook is attached within the trough.
 3. The bicycle rack of claim 2,wherein at least one threaded hole is defined within the trough andwherein an attachment end of the hook is provided with a correspondinglythreaded end, the hook end being screwed into one of the at least onethreaded holes.
 4. The bicycle rack of claim 2, further comprising auniversal slider attachment, the universal slider attachment comprisinga plate sized to slidably fit within the trough, the plate definingtherethrough an aperture for receipt of a hook end and further definingat the distal ends thereof teeth for engaging the trough.
 5. The bicyclerack of claim 1, further comprising a third support leg opposite thefirst support leg.
 6. The bicycle rack of claim 1, the vertical supportmember further comprising a second attachment surface and a secondtrough defined by the second attachment surface, the bicycle rackfurther comprising a second hook for holding a second bicycle in avertical orientation.
 7. The bicycle rack of claim 6, wherein the secondattachment surface is adjacent the first attachment surface, such thatthe positions of the first bicycle and the second bicycle define a rightangle.
 8. The bicycle rack of claim 6, wherein the second attachmentsurface is opposite the first attachment surface, such that the positionof the first bicycle and the second bicycle are back-to-back.
 9. Thebicycle rack of claim 6, wherein the vertical support member furthercomprises a third attachment surface and a third trough defined in thethird attachment surface, the bicycle rack further comprising a thirdhook for holding a third bicycle in a vertical orientation opposite oneof the first and second bicycles.
 10. The bicycle rack of claim 1,further comprising a third vertical support member, the third verticalsupport member being spaced a distance apart from the second verticalsupport member, a support leg being positioned between and connected tothe second and third vertical support members, the third verticalsupport member defining a trough and having a hook installed in thetrough for supporting a third bicycle in a vertical orientation.